


Wherein Melissa Saves Red Rock Canyon

by geekpaws



Category: Fallout: New Vegas
Genre: F/M, Gen, rated mature for language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-03
Updated: 2019-01-03
Packaged: 2019-10-03 11:35:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17283311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/geekpaws/pseuds/geekpaws
Summary: Melissa saves the Great Khans from utter destruction, but most of them will never know it. (Just a little ficlet featuring Melissa Lewis, but ultimately about Benny and Honor.)





	Wherein Melissa Saves Red Rock Canyon

If they hadn't been keeping so quiet, Melissa would never have noticed them. Four of her Khan brothers, still young but up-and-comers in the tribe, huddled together over a piece of paper. She snuck up behind them, which was admittedly not difficult, absorbed as they were in their discussion. "What's going on?"

The four started, but upon seeing Melissa, relaxed. "Just, uh, planning something," the eldest, Joseph, replied.

"Yeah? What?"

The four eyed each other, then spun the paper around on the makeshift table so she could read it. "We're gonna restore our name. Reglorify our reputation."

Without bothering to point out that "reglorify" wasn't a word, Melissa studied their plan. It was carefully wrought-- meticulous-- to the point that it might actually work. She felt her stomach drop in unfamiliar fear. "What is this?" God, she hoped she was wrong.

"It's the route that NCR delegation's taking to Freeside." The boys all began pointing excitedly to features on the map and in the text as Joseph spoke for them. "See, here's where they'll be meeting, here. And that means when the chiefs from the Strip come to meet them, they'll have to take this street, here." They laid out the plans with the eagerness of a new mother showing off her freshly-born, all the way to the finish where they would kidnap and kill all the leaders from the Strip. "We know the Kings'll give us some trouble for offin' their chief, but--"

Melissa shook her head. "You're daft. She'll kill you, you know."

"Who?"

"Honor. The Courier. She'll kill you."

"No, that's the beauty of it!" Joseph's eyes were alight with pride. "She's in DC! She won't be there!"

Melissa stared at the boy. Could he really be that dumb? "And what happens when she gets back?"

"It'll be too late. We'll have already killed 'em all."

She ran her hand across her eyes. "Dear god, you are stupid. All of you." The boys bristled, but she continued. "So Honor comes home from DC, and someone just happens to mention to her that some Great Khans have murdered Benny. What do you think her first stop's gonna be? And what do you think she'll do when she gets here?"

Now the boys looked at each other with uncertainty. "There's more of us than--"

She gave a bark of laughter. "More of us than there are Securitrons in Benny's personal army? She will come here with that tide of metal and destruction, and she will fuckin' burn us down."

"But-- but she's helped the Khans. You're friends with her--"

"Do you think that'll matter? It won't. You harm a hair on his head, you even _try,_ and she'll make Bitter Springs look like a fuckin' picnic. She'll salt the fuckin' earth, boys." She snatched the paper away from them before they could stop her. "I'm showing this to Papa. For your own good. For all our good." She heard them grousing as she walked away, but she didn't care. She did count Honor as a friend, but after all the courier had done for people, so did half the Mojave. But Melissa harbored neither illusion nor doubt. Honor might let Melissa, perhaps Diane and Jack, escape with their lives. But they shouldn't count on that, and pleas for the others' lives would fall on deaf ears. Friendship and loyalty would fly right out the window if any of them laid a hand on Benny and that was a fact. No matter how close to her they had once been, Honor would blow anyone's brains out who hurt Benny.

Or worse. Melissa had heard of the things Honor did to Legionaries when she could take her time killing them. Gut shots. Shallow slices to the throat. Mortal injuries that guaranteed a slow and agonizing death in the desert heat.

And these were men who weren't even there when Benny had been held captive. She'd already killed all of those.

Melissa wondered what they'd done to Benny to warrant such rage from the Courier, but friend or no, she knew better than to ask.

She hoped Papa could put the fear into those stupid boys, or their home's name would refer to more than just the color of the canyon walls.

Unlike those boys, Melissa harbored no illusions.


End file.
